Interview Advice Please

[Butterflytat]

I posted a wee while ago about my son looking for a job. He now has an interview through someone I know who has a relative in the company. The job sounds fairly straight forward and he has spoken to the current job holder who has told him what the job entails and he has all the relevant skills. However, my son knows he has messed about for a couple of years since Uni and now really regrets it and is looking everywhere for a job. How should he play the interview for the gaps in his employment? He has recently done some bar work and a few other part time jobs including Amazon but nothing that has lasted very long.

I'd suggest something along the lines of he's been working various jobs while deciding what he wants to do, and now he's reached the point he'd like to begin building his career.

Say he's done a few short-term jobs and now wants an opportunity to prove himself in a company like this one. He has researched the company and thinks it would be a good place to build his career.

The interviewer will be interested in whether he
a) can do the job (sounds like he can)
b) will do the job (this is the key point he needs to answer)
c) will he fit in / cause trouble (most people can pass this test without much bother just by being their normal selves, but every interviewer has had experience of someone who on paper can do the job - but they just have an instinct something is wrong. Maybe the interviewee is cocky, abrasive, too laid back, over-confident etc.)

Point b) is the key. He needs to show he will be reliable and committed. His uni experience might help with this - play on the deadlines, research and so on. Has he got any hobbies that show commitment to improving a skill? What skills did he learn in the work he has done (time-keeping, meeting targets, generally going beyond the call of duty)?

The interviewer is not so much interested in what he's done for the past two years as what he will do in the next two.

Lastly - if he doesn't get this job, don't let him give up or be too disheartened. The experience of one job interview will greatly assist his confidence for the next interview.

A good warning not to mess around.

I wouldn't worry about putting the fact he jumped from job to job, but what he gained from each experience, his duties and any qualifications no matter how small. He just needs a good reason for leaving each time ie end of contract, made redundant.

His problem is being able to show his loyalty and commitment to a company, especially if they invest in him.

Has he or anyone in the family had an illness and he needed to stay nearby to help?

Is anyone willing to give him a good reference?